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This list lists achievements and distinctions of various first ladies of the United States. It includes distinctions achieved in their earlier life and post-first lady service.

There have been forty-two official first ladies and forty-five first ladyships. This discrepancy exists because some presidents remarried while in office and some were not married so had no official first lady.

Also note that first ladies not recognized by the National First Ladies' Library listing include Martha Jefferson Randolph, Emily Donelson, Sarah Yorke Jackson, Angelica Van Buren, Priscilla Tyler, Mary McElroy, Rose Cleveland, Mary McKee, and Margaret Woodrow Wilson.

Martha Washington

[edit]
Martha Washington 1902 issue stamp
Main article: Martha Washington
  • First first lady.[1]
  • First first lady to be born in Virginia.[2]
  • First first lady to have been born in the 18th century.[2]
  • First first lady to have had children when she became first lady.[2]
  • First first lady to outlive her children.[2]
  • First first lady to outlive her husband.[2]
  • First first lady to be older than her husband.[2]
  • First first lady (and first American woman) to appear on a U.S. postage stamp.[3]

Abigail Adams

[edit]
Main article: Abigail Adams
  • First first lady to be born in Massachusetts.[4]
  • First first lady to serve as Second Lady and First Lady on the same day.[5]
  • First first lady to live in the White House.[6]
  • First first lady to have biological children with a husband who was a President. [7]
  • First first lady to be the mother of another President (John Quincy Adams).[8]

Martha Jefferson Randolph

[edit]
Main article: Martha Jefferson Randolph
  • First first lady to not be the wife of the President.[9]

Dolley Madison

[edit]
1848 photographic portrait of Dolley Madison
Main article: Dolley Madison
  • First first lady to be born in North Carolina.[10]
  • First first lady to have a parrot as a pet at the White House.[11]
  • First first lady given an honorary seat on the floor of Congress.[12]
  • First first lady to respond to a telegraph message.[12]
  • First first lady to be taller than the President.[13]
  • First first lady to be photographed.[13]

Louisa Adams

[edit]
Main article: Louisa Adams
  • First first lady born outside of the United States; she was born in England.[14]
  • First first lady to have both houses of the United States Congress adjourn in mourning on the day of her funeral.[15]

Sarah Yorke Jackson

[edit]
Main article: Sarah Yorke Jackson

Anna Harrison

[edit]
Main article: Anna Harrison
  • First first lady to be born in New Jersey.[16]
  • First first lady to be widowed while holding the title.[17]
  • First first lady to be granted by law a pension as a president's widow.[18]
  • First first lady to be the grandmother of a president.[12]

Letitia Tyler

[edit]
Main article: Letitia Tyler
  • First first lady to die in the White House.[19]

Julia Tyler

[edit]
Main article: Julia Tyler
  • First first lady to marry a president who was already in office at the time of the wedding.[20]

Sarah Polk

[edit]
Main article: Sarah Polk

Abigail Fillmore

[edit]
Main article: Abigail Fillmore
  • First first lady to hold a job while married (she was a teacher).[21]
  • First first lady to establish a permanent White House library.[22]

Harriet Lane

[edit]
Main article: Harriet Lane

Mary Todd Lincoln

[edit]
Main article: Mary Todd Lincoln

Julia Grant

[edit]
Main article: Julia Grant

Lucy Hayes

[edit]
Main article: Lucy Hayes
  • First first lady to be born in Ohio.[26]
  • First first lady to earn a college degree.[27]
  • First first lady to ban all alcoholic beverages from the White House.[12]
  • First first lady to host an Easter Egg roll on the White House lawn.[23]

Frances Cleveland

[edit]
Main article: Frances Cleveland
  • First first lady to marry in the White House.[28]
  • First first lady to hold the position of first lady for two non-consecutive terms.[29]

Caroline Harrison

[edit]
Main article: Caroline Harrison
  • First first lady to use electricity.[12]
  • First first lady to raise a Christmas tree in the White House.[30]
  • First first lady to have written a speech she delivered herself.[30]

Edith Roosevelt

[edit]
Main article: Edith Roosevelt
  • First first lady to be born in Connecticut.[31]
  • First sitting first lady to travel abroad.[32]

Helen Taft

[edit]
Main article: Helen Taft
  • First first lady to own and drive a car.[12]
  • First first lady to ride in her husband's inaugural parade.[12]
  • First first lady to support women's suffrage.[12]
  • First first lady to publish her memoirs.[12]
  • First first lady to smoke cigarettes.[12]
  • First first lady to successfully lobby for safety standards in federal workplaces.[12]
  • First first lady to plant the first cherry tree saplings that are along Washington, D.C.'s Tidal Basin.[33]
  • First first lady to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[33]
  • First sitting first lady to turn 50.[34]

Edith Wilson

[edit]
Main article: Edith Wilson
  • First first lady to unofficially assume presidential functions.[23]

Florence Harding

[edit]
Main article: Florence Harding
  • First first lady to vote.[12]
  • First first lady to fly in an airplane.[12]
  • First first lady to operate a movie camera.[12]
  • First first lady to own a radio.[12]
  • First first lady to invite movie stars to the White House.[12]

Grace Coolidge

[edit]
Main article: Grace Coolidge
  • First first lady to born in Vermont.[35]
  • First first lady to earn a four-year undergraduate degree.[36]
  • First first lady to speak in sound newsreels.[12]

Lou Hoover

[edit]
Main article: Lou Hoover
  • First first lady to be born in Iowa.[37]
  • First first lady to make regular nationwide radio broadcasts.[38]

Eleanor Roosevelt

[edit]
Eleanor Roosevelt (FDR Memorial)
Main article: Eleanor Roosevelt
  • First first lady to hold regular press conferences.[12]
  • First first lady to write a daily newspaper column and to write a monthly magazine column.[12]
  • First first lady to host a weekly radio show.[12]
  • First first lady to fly in an airplane while first lady; she flew with Amelia Earhart in April 1933.[39]
  • First first lady to speak at a national party convention (1940).[40]
  • First first lady to be depicted as part of a presidential memorial (the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial).[41]
  • First first lady (and only) to serve in the role for 12 years (1933–1945); to date.[42]

Bess Truman

[edit]
Main article: Bess Truman
  • First first lady to live to the age of 97.[43][44]

Mamie Eisenhower

[edit]
Main article: Mamie Eisenhower
  • First first lady to initiate Halloween decorations to be put up in the White House.[45]

Jacqueline Kennedy

[edit]
Main article: Jacqueline Kennedy

Lady Bird Johnson

[edit]
Main article: Lady Bird Johnson
  • First first lady to be born in Texas.[48]

Pat Nixon

[edit]
Pat Nixon speaking at the Republican National Convention
Main article: Pat Nixon
  • First first lady to be born in Nevada.[49]
  • First first lady to enter a combat zone.[50]
  • First first lady to travel to Africa,[51] the People's Republic of China, and the Soviet Union.[52]
  • First first Lady to model trousers in a national magazine.[53]
  • First first lady to address a Republican National Convention (in 1972).[54]

Betty Ford

[edit]
Main article: Betty Ford
  • First first lady to be born in Illinois.[55]
  • First first lady to have a successful battle against dependency on drugs and alcohol, and openly talk about it.[55]

Rosalynn Carter

[edit]
Main article: Rosalynn Carter
  • First first lady to keep her own office in the East Wing.[12][56]
  • First first lady to have a VCR in the White House.[12][56]
  • First first lady to have been married for 77 years.[57]

Nancy Reagan

[edit]
Main article: Nancy Reagan

Barbara Bush

[edit]
Main article: Barbara Bush

Hillary Clinton

[edit]
Main article: Hillary Clinton
  • First first lady to earn a postgraduate degree.[70]
  • First first lady to have her own professional career up to the time of entering the White House.[70]
  • First first lady to wear trousers in an official first lady portrait.[71]
  • First first lady with an office in the West Wing.[72]
  • First first lady to win a Grammy Award.[73]
  • First first lady to be subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury.[74]
  • First first lady to run for and to win elected office (for senator from New York in 2000).[75]
  • First first lady to march in an LGBT pride parade (2000).[76]
  • First first lady to run for president (election in 2008).[12][77]
  • First first lady to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party (specifically, the Democratic Party, in 2016).[78][75]
  • First first lady to serve as Chancellor at Queen's University Belfast (began 5-year term in January 2020).[79][80]
  • First first lady to be an electoral college elector (election in 2020).[81]

Laura Bush

[edit]
Main article: Laura Bush
  • First first lady to give birth to twins.[12][82][83]
  • First first lady to substitute for the president in the president's weekly radio address.[12][84]
  • First incumbent first lady to have a mother-in-law who was also a first lady.[64][65]

Michelle Obama

[edit]
Main article: Michelle Obama

Melania Trump

[edit]
Main article: Melania Trump
  • First first lady not to have been born a citizen of the United States or in what would later become the United States.[a] She was naturalized in 2006.[93][94][95]
  • First first lady to be fluent in a Slavic language.[96]
  • First first lady to fly in a V-22 Osprey aircraft.[97]

Jill Biden

[edit]
Main article: Jill Biden

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Though Louisa Adams was born outside of the United States, she was the daughter of an American father - Joshua Johnson, the American Consul in London - and American citizenship was, therefore, her birthright.[91][92]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Martha Washington Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". Firstladies.org. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. (2020). "Ten Facts about Martha Washington" Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  3. ^ Historian. May 2020. "Women Subjects on United States Postage Stamps" United States Postal Service. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  4. ^ History.com editors. (October 27, 2019)."Abigail Adams" Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  5. ^ The White House. "Abigail Smith Adams" Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  6. ^ "The 44 first ladies of the United States of America". Deseret News. May 14, 2015. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  7. ^ name="Political Lists p. 60">Book of Political Lists, p. 60
  8. ^ Cohen, David (2018-04-17). "Barbara Bush, matriarch of Bush dynasty, dies at 92". Politico. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
  9. ^ Andrews, Evan. "Not Every First Lady Has Been Married to the President". History.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Dolley Madison, North Carolina's Legendary First Lady". Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  11. ^ Presidential Pet Museum. "James Madison – Dolley’s Parrot" Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Little-known facts about our First Ladies". Firstladies.org. Archived from the original on 2015-07-14. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
  13. ^ a b "First Lady Biography: Dolley Madison". Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  14. ^ "Louisa Adams Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". Firstladies.org. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  15. ^ "Louisa Adams - First Ladies". HISTORY.com. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  16. ^ Caroli, B. (2020). "Anna Harrison" Britannica. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  17. ^ "Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  18. ^ "William Henry Harrison". www.history.com. 21 August 2018.
  19. ^ "Letitia Christian Tyler". The White House.
  20. ^ "Julia Tyler Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". www.firstladies.org.
  21. ^ "Abigail Fillmore Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". www.firstladies.org.
  22. ^ John Y. Cole "Fillmore’s Foundation" Library of Congress. Retrieved 2 Feb. 2021.
  23. ^ a b c Sarkar, Asmita (November 21, 2016). "Melania Trump isn't the only incoming First Lady to break the norm; here are 8 more who defied White House traditions". International Business Times. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  24. ^ Caroli, B. (2020). "Julia Grant" Britannica. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  25. ^ "Julia Grant Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". Firstladies.org. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  26. ^ The White House. (n.d.)."Lucy Ware Webb Hayes" Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  27. ^ "Lucy Hayes Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". Firstladies.org. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  28. ^ a b "First Ladies — History.com Video". History.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  29. ^ "Frances Folsom Cleveland". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  30. ^ a b "First Lady - Caroline Harrison | C-SPAN First Ladies: Influence & Image". firstladies.c-span.org. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  31. ^ Britannica. (September 26, 2020). "Edith Roosevelt" Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  32. ^ Watson, Robert P. (February 1, 2012). Life in the White House: A Social History of the First Family and the President's House. SUNY Press. ISBN 9780791485071.
  33. ^ a b "Prominent Women" Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  34. ^ Bidens celebrate first lady’s birthday at her favorite place
  35. ^ Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, Inc. "Grace Coolidge Overview" Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  36. ^ "Grace Coolidge Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". www.firstladies.org. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  37. ^ The White House. (n.d.)."Lou Henry Hoover" Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  38. ^ "Lou Henry Hoover". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  39. ^ Nelson, Brooke (December 18, 2020). "45 Facts You Never Knew About America's First Ladies"Reader's Digest. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  40. ^ Goodwin, Doris Kearns (1994). No Ordinary Time. p. 10, 133. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-80448-4.
  41. ^ "The White House / The National Archives". Clinton2.nara.gov. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  42. ^ The White House. "Anna Eleanor Roosevelt" Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  43. ^ "First Lady Biography: Bess Truman: National First Ladies' Library". Firstladies.org. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  44. ^ "Elizabeth (Bess) Truman Biography". trumanlittlewhitehouse.org. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  45. ^ "What Halloween Was Like the Year You Were Born". Country Living. September 29, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  46. ^ "First Lady Biography: Jackie Kennedy :: National First Ladies' Library". Firstladies.org. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  47. ^ "Jacqueline Kennedy Refines the Season", White House Historical Association, accessed February 25, 2023.
  48. ^ The White House. (n.d.)."Claudia Alta Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson" Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  49. ^ The White House. (n.d.)."Patricia Ryan Nixon" Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  50. ^ "First Lady Biography: Pat Nixon". The National First Ladies Library. 2005. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
  51. ^ Anthony, Carl Sferrazza (1991). First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents' Wives and Their Power; 1961–1990 (Volume II). New York: William Morrow and Co., p. 196
  52. ^ "News Detail". Nixonfoundation.net. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  53. ^ "The First Lady a Nation Never Knew: Pat Nixon in Private Taped Phone Calls & 100 Pictures on Her Centennial". Carl Anthony Online. March 16, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  54. ^ "The First Lady a Nation Never Knew: Pat Nixon in Private Taped Phone Calls & 100 Pictures on Her Centennial". Carl Anthony Online. March 16, 2012. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  55. ^ a b The White House. "Elizabeth Anne Bloomer Ford" Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  56. ^ a b Digital, Tegna (2023-11-19). "Rosalynn Carter, former US first lady, dead at 96". WCNC-TV. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  57. ^ Chamlee, Virginia (2023-07-07). "Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Celebrate 77th Anniversary in Same Small Town as Their 1946 Wedding". People. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  58. ^ "First Lady Biography: Nancy Reagan". Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  59. ^ "First Lady Biography: Nancy Reagan". National First Ladies Library. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2007.
  60. ^ National Constitution Center (February 6, 2013). "10 interesting facts on Ronald Reagan's birthday". National Constitution Center. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  61. ^ Reagan, Nancy; Novak, William (1989). "My Turn: The Memoirs of Nancy Reagan". New York City: Random House. ISBN 0-8129-9211-3.
  62. ^ Kathleen, Tumulty (2021). "The Triumph of Nancy Reagan". New York City: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781501165207.
  63. ^ "President and Mrs. Reagan Attend the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles". The White House Historical Association. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  64. ^ a b Kilian 2002, p. 227.
  65. ^ a b Kilian 2002, p. 232.
  66. ^ "The Vice President's Residence". WhiteHouse.gov. Archived from the original on October 21, 2009.
  67. ^ Groppe, Maureen. "Second Lady Karen Pence lights up garden to honor George H.W. Bush". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  68. ^ a b "Barbara Bush Biography: National First Ladies' Library". Firstladies.org. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  69. ^ Delk, Josh (January 6, 2018). "George H.W. Bush and wife celebrate 73 years of marriage". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  70. ^ a b "Hillary Rodham Clinton". PBS. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014. Clinton had the first postgraduate degree through regular study and scholarly work. Eleanor Roosevelt had been previously awarded a postgraduate honorary degree. Clinton's successor Laura Bush became the second First Lady with a postgraduate degree.
  71. ^ Betsi Fores (June 19, 2013). "Flashback: Top 7 Hillary Rodham Clinton pant suits | Rare". Rare.us. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  72. ^ Baker, Peter; Chozick, Amy (December 5, 2014). "Hillary Clinton's History as First Lady: Powerful, but Not Always Deft". The New York Times.
  73. ^ Jeffrey D. Schultz (1999). Encyclopedia of Women in American Politics. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 40–. ISBN 978-1-57356-131-0.
  74. ^ "Once Upon a Time in Arkansas: Rose Law Firm Billing Records". Frontline. October 7, 1997.
  75. ^ a b "First first lady to win elected office". Guinness World Records. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  76. ^ Nate White. "Why Hillary's experience argument actually does check out — Medium". Medium.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  77. ^ McGregor, Jena. "Is Hillary Clinton's challenge that she's been set up for failure, or for success?". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  78. ^ Alan Rappeport, Yamiche Alcindor & Jonathan Martin, Democrats Nominate Hillary Clinton Despite Sharp Divisions, New York Times (July 26, 2016).
  79. ^ Moriarty, Gerry. "Hillary Clinton appointed chancellor of Queen's University Belfast". The Irish Times. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  80. ^ Meredith, Robbie (January 2, 2020). "Hillary Clinton appointed chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast". BBC News. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  81. ^ "Hillary Clinton says she is an Electoral College elector in New York". CNN. October 28, 2020.
  82. ^ Bush Hager, Jenna; Pierce Bush, Barbara; Bush, Laura (2017). "Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life". New York City: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 9781538711415.
  83. ^ "Jenna and Barbara Bush Reveal the Bush Family's Favorite GIFs". Vanity Fair. October 24, 2017. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  84. ^ "Laura Welch Bush". Association database. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023.
  85. ^ "First Lady Michelle Obama". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  86. ^ "Michelle Obama". whitehouse.gov. January 2, 2015.
  87. ^ Rossi, Rosalind (January 20, 2007). "The woman behind Obama". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
  88. ^ "Academic Departments & Programs". The Trustees of Princeton University. 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2008.
  89. ^ "Michelle Obama surprises Oscars by presenting Best Picture award". Reuters. February 24, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  90. ^ Julian Hughes. July 1, 2015. "Obamas host first ever campout for Girl Scouts at the White House" CBS News. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  91. ^ Harris, Bill; Ross, Laura (March 4, 2009). The First Ladies Fact Book: Revised and Updated! The Childhoods, Courtships, Marriages, Campaigns, Accomplishments, and Legacies of Every First Lady from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. ISBN 978-1579128098.
  92. ^ "Louisa Adams - First Ladies". History.com. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  93. ^ Diamond, Jeremy (November 10, 2016). "America, meet your new first lady". CNN. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  94. ^ "Melania to be 1st foreign-born First Lady since 1820s". The Hindu. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  95. ^ "US election: Trump children - who is the new first family?". BBC News. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  96. ^ Puente, Maria (November 9, 2016). "What kind of first lady will Melania Trump be?". USA Today. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  97. ^ "Melania Trump makes first lady history with ride in Osprey aircraft". Military Times. The Associated Press. December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  98. ^ Puente, Maria (November 10, 2020). "Jill Biden will be historic first lady: Just call her 'Professor FLOTUS'". USA Today. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  99. ^ ISDA Staff (November 7, 2020). "Jill Biden Set to Become the First Italian American First Lady" Italian Sons & Daughters of America. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  100. ^ Martichoux, Alix. November 7, 2020. "Joe Biden will bring first rescue dog to the White House" ABC7. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  101. ^ Gaudiano, Nicole (November 12, 2020). "First professor: Jill Biden to make history as a first lady with a day job". Politico. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  102. ^ Bennett, Kate (February 20, 2021). "Jill Biden is hitting the ground running – in all directions". CNN. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  103. ^ "Jill Biden: Charles' coronation was 'just amazing to see'". NBC News. The Associated Press. May 6, 2023. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  104. ^ Henni, Janine. "King Charles Welcomes President Joe Biden to Windsor Castle for First Formal Meeting of Royal Reign". People. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  105. ^ Evon, Dan (June 3, 2023). "Is Jill Biden the Oldest Sitting First Lady?". Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  106. ^ Swan, Betsy Woodruff; Gerstein, Josh (June 11, 2024). "Hunter Biden found guilty on federal gun charges". Politico. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
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